Annual Zipper Open raises $46,000

The 27th annual Charles E. Anthony Memorial Zipper Open took place Thursday, June 6, at both Bucks Run Golf Club and the PohlCat Championship Golf Course, raising more than $46,000 to support cardiovascular services at McLaren Central Michigan.

The first outing was organized 27 years ago by Charles E. Anthony for the benefit of several of his “zipper” (heart surgery) friends. Because golf is good exercise for heart patients, Charlie encouraged his friends to join him on the golf course often, organizing the “Zipper” Open for those who had the zipper-like scar from open-heart surgery on their chest.

The Zipper Open has raised more than $700,000 for McLaren Central Michigan over the years. Funds raised from the 2013 outing will go toward the purchase of a new ultrasound system that produces crisp, high-resolution images of the heart, and more. The new system will allow physicians to diagnose patients faster by increasing image quality, efficiency and accuracy of biopsies and ablations.